Lessons Learned in Two Years of SOA

Looking for that perfect Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanzaa gift for your favorite IT friend? Why not consider the updated version of SOA for Dummies, which will be released Dec. 19-just in time for the holidays?

Okay, I'm kidding about giving this as a gift. Who wants to think about SOA during the holidays? Instead, buy your geek friends something cool and retro like a Slinky, or uber geeky and hip, like a My Little Storm Trooper.

The first big difference she and co-writers Robin Bloor, Marcia Kaufman, and Fern Halper noticed was how much easier it was to find actual SOA implementations. The first time through, they had to search high and low for a mere seven case studies. This time, they found 24 companies across 9 different verticals-not overwhelming, but better than seven.

They also had to expand the book to include more topics, such as SOA service management and SOA software development.

But the real reason I wanted to point out Hurwitz's plug for the upcoming book is because she shares five lessons learned while writing the book. Even if you skip SOA for Dummies, these lessons are worth a quick skim.

I'll let you read her full post, but I will say the list shows companies are focusing more on using SOA to support strategy and business processes. Another intriguing lesson suggested companies are also starting to reuse service -- remember that long-promised, over-hyped promise of SOA?

Hurwitz summarized the situation thusly:

The bottom line is that SOA is beginning to mature. Companies are not just focused on backbone services such as service buses but on making their SOA services reach out to consumers and their business partners.

Maybe with SOA's maturity, we'll finally start to see the results promised during SOA's over hyped heydays.

By the way, don't confuse SOA for Dummies with SOA Adoption for Dummies," which is still available online for downloading. As the co-author of that book, Miko Matsumura pointed out in a IT Business Edge comment, SOA Adoption for Dummies focuses on best practices and practical advice for people who are implementing SOA projects and programs - so, really, it's not a resource for complete dummies, just implementation dummies. Got it? Good.

Robert Abate of RCGIT will share how real-time database replication and integration can be used for reporting and analytics. He'll look at why more companies are moving to real-time data integration and what problems it can solve. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 2 p.m. ET.

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Sign up now and get the best business technology insights direct to your inbox.